Swiss National Bank Has $332.49 Million Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 6.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 744,600 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 42,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $332,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,709,519. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $3,144,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,739,600. The trade was a 21.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,874 shares of company stock worth $8,707,966. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $485.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $123.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $462.54 and its 200-day moving average is $459.00. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $533.67.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 EPS for the current year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.